[04/15/08 - 04:05 PM]America's Most Wanted All-Star Award Finalists AnnouncedNow, public voting is set to begin Thursday, April 17 to choose the Grand Prize Winner: the 2008 AMW All-Star.

[via press release from FOX]

"AMERICA'S MOST WANTED" ALL-STAR AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED;
EIGHT FIRST RESPONDERS VIE FOR TITLE AND CASH PRIZE IN CONTEST SPONSORED BY SPRINT

Voting Begins Thursday, April 17

(April 15, 2008) � In February, television's top crime-fighting show, America's Most Wanted, asked Americans to help give special recognition to the police, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders who are dedicated to protecting us by nominating their favorite hero for the AMW All-Star Award. The public responded by submitting the names of hundreds of brave men and women. Through online voting, Americans selected eight weekly finalists. Now, public voting is set to begin Thursday, April 17 to choose the Grand Prize Winner: the 2008 AMW All-Star.

Voting in the fourth annual AMW All-Star Contest, sponsored by Sprint, is simple, and members of the public may vote once a day, every day, at the America's Most Wanted website, www.amw.com, or by text message from your Sprint phone (details on how to vote by text message are available at the AMW website and standard text messaging charges apply). Voting for the Grand Prize winner closes on May 6. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter, and will be featured in an upcoming episode of America's Most Wanted (Saturdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT on FOX).

The eight finalists are:

� Gary Fields, a Christiansburg, Virginia police officer who was one of the first to respond to the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University and is credited with saving the life of a gravely-injured student.

� Scott Reid, a Pinellas County, Florida, Sheriff's Deputy whose day-off trip to a shopping mall turned into a life-or-death confrontation with an armed carjacking suspect.

� Martin Lawing, a Burke County, North Carolina, Sheriff's Deputy who was shot while trying to help end a standoff.

� Darrin Helton, an EMT and emergency room nurse in McDowell County, North Carolina.

� Dennis Delano, a police detective from Buffalo, New York whose work helped clear a man wrongly-imprisoned on rape charges and a woman accused of killing her daughter.

� Jeff Wheeler, the Assistant Chief of the Waverly/Barton Fire District in Waverly, New York, who was the first commander to arrive on the scene of a deadly tractor-trailer accident and who saved a burning victim.

� Randy Botten, a sergeant with the Dorchester County, South Carolina Sheriff's Office, whose quick thinking brought down a dangerous suspect who'd opened fire on him.

� Brad Sherman, a lieutenant with the Fairfield Fire Department in Fairfield, Connecticut, who's spent 30 years in public service and helped with the rescue efforts at Ground Zero and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

AMW Host John Walsh will present the 2008 AMW All-Star with a check for $10,000 at the NASCAR SPRINT Cup Series� All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 17th.